The state chronicle., 1887-06-23

Each county in the State shall be di-
vided into a convenient number of dis
tricts, in which one or more public schools
shall be maintained, at least, four months
in every year, and if the commissioners of
any county shall fail to comply with afore
said requirements of this section they shall
| be liable to Indictment
| The proceeds of all lands that have
been or hereafter may be granted by the
| United States to this State. and not other
wise appropriated by this State or by the
United States; also all moneys, stocks,
bonds and other property, now belonging
to any State fund for purposes of educa-
ton; also the net proceeds Of all sales of
swamp lands belonging to the State, and
other grants, gifts or devises that have
been or hereafter may be made to the
State, and not otherwise appropriated by
the State, by the term of the grant,
| gift or devise, shall be paid into the State
treasury; and together with SO much of
the ordinary revenue of the State as may
be by law set apart for that purpose. shall
be faithfully appropriated for establishing
and maintaining IN this State system of
free public schools, and for no other uses
or purposes y
1t is also provided in the Constitution,
that the clear proceeds of all penalties and
forfitures, and of all fines collected in the
several counties for any breach of the
penal or military laws of the State shall
bc appropriated in the respective counties
for maintaining free public schools.
The above provisions of the Constitution
are the basis upon which our present
school system rests. So far very little
money has been received from any source
except from ordinary taxation of property
and polls. While the State Board of Edu
cation owns large area of swamp lands
perhaps near a million acres-all efforts
so far to make them available for school
purposes have resu ted in disappointment,
although before the war near two hundred
thousand dollars was spent IN an attempt
to drain them. l do not think that any
considerable sum will ever be realized from
them, certainly not such sum as will be of
much Importance in the education OF our
people.
1t will therefore be seen that what has
been done since the war, and what may
hereafter be done forpublic education, has
depended and must hereafter depend up
on funds raised and to be raised by Ordi
nary taxation on property and polls
Let US see what has been done:
/. a chair has recently been endowed at
the University for instruction in the art
of Teaching, from which good results are
expected IN the line of conpetent teachers
for the public schools
?. We now have eight Normal schools
for the whites and five for the negroes
Those for the whites are rather in the ma
ture of Institutes, and are held annually
at convenient points in the State, for I.
period of one month. Many of the ad
vanced teachers OF the State have mani
tested "a laudable spirit in giving instruc-
ton in these schools. The attendance Is
, large, of persons earger to be instructed
in the advanced methods of teaching and
: school management $4,000 per annum
is appropriated for these Normals for the
whites. The five colored Normals are reg
ularly III session eight or nine months per
annum. All five are under the manage
lnent of Boards Of Directors composed of
white men, who employ the best colored
I Instructors to be had, and otherwise super
intend the schools. These schools annual
g ~ supply large number of teachers fot
: the colored people, and have an annual
appropriation OF eight thousand dollars.
3. Our statutes provide tor coGuty In
. st tutes for both races, and many of the
! counties held them for one or tWo weeks
: and they are productive of much good
The Normal schools and county Institutes
S have had Il very fine effect in elevating th.
i standard of common school teachers; YET
a great deal remains to be done IN thu.
r direction.
e 4. Each county now has " separat,
y Board of Education aud q SuperintendeH It
t and these officers are charged with til,
a management of the funds and the schools
e Of their respective countless and are re
S quired to equalize scflool facilities as fal
Il as may be practicable and just, to all tn,
II chlldien, without discrimination us to race
:. D. All the counties have been divide,
l. into districts, separate for the Wo races
: IN each Of which school is annually pro
l. vlded. These districts are irregular Iii size
is but not many OF them contain an area o
Is more than four miles square, and man,
l. are much smaller, SO that, except in tht
;. very sparsely populated sections of til,
r State, there is annually school in eas,
J. reach of every child.
n 6. The General Assembly now leves
d tax OF twelve and one half cents on ever,
500 Of property and 3si cents on eacl
It poll for schools; and at least - per cent
Is of all other poll taxes, whether levied il
/, the Revenue Law or by the county commits
If sioners, must be appropriated for schools
II All these moneys, so appropriated, ar
le collected by the Sheritfs of the RESPECTIVE
,e counties, and by them turned over to tn
4 county school officers. If the fund accu
II mulated IN each county Is not sufficient t,
Il maintain schools for period of fou
: months, the statute requires the count,
,d commissioners, il accordance with th
provision of the Constitution above cited
D. to levy special tax fer that purpose. Gu
D. supreme Court has recently decided in tn
al case of Barksdale VS.. Commissioners 0
% Sampson county, that this requirement
p Constitutional only within the limits o
a. 665 cents on property and So 90 Oh tn
poII, but that special taAes for special puI
III poses under special acts of Assembly ar
n not TO be included. Last year the Who'll
c. amount raised for public schools wa
of SOL 200.
t. :. The systen.is executed by Stat
s. Superintendent of Public Instruction, an
a. the State Board of Education composed c
the Governor and all the other State oft
e. GERS.
of s. Many of our cities and larger town,
IL under special acts of Assembly, have e,
pit celent graded schools supported by vo
er untary taxation, but the people groan III
ip der the burden of taxation which is.
ae many cases, said to be too grievous to /
n borne.
ol Thus it will be seen that the State has
ut uniform and well appointed system, bl
e IN our condition of poverty, it could hl
be expected that the support of the schoo
e for even four months would be burdel
lg some W hen all the funds must be raise
ut by direct taxation. Then, too, the sal
16 rleS muSt rily ha small and in II